In Which Jyn has a Secret
by Zymm
Summary: Jyn is keeping a secret, and the whole team seems to be in on it- except for a certain captain. He's determined to find out.


Jyn was acting very strange.

Cassian had noticed straight away, assuming the odd, out-of-character behavior was just a short phase. Perhaps she'd woke up on the wrong side of the bed or had a cold dip in the refresher, he mused. It would pass.

But this was day three of odd-Jyn, and he was becoming more worried as time passed.

She would show up to the morning workout at the rebel base, her shoes strapped on but unlaced, her hair thrown into a sloppy bun, and dark circles marring the skin under her eyes. Jyn looked as if she hadn't slept a wink, and she looked in no condition to run the daily miles with the rebel squad. But she'd pushed along, running alongside him. It was a tradition, to silently jog (and suffer) alongside one another during the mandatory run. But the past few days she had shown up perplexingly unprepared, and ran as if she were half asleep.

"You okay, Jyn?" Cassian had asked after they were finished, back in the bustling rebel base. He'd put one hand on her arm, and she had shrugged tiredly. Her lips did that little tug of a smile that he knew so well, turning her face into a remarkably Jyn look.

"Don't worry about me, Captain." Jyn teased, half-heartedly. They'd resumed their steps towards the mess hall, both hungry after the exhausting start to their day. She nudged her shoulder against his. "Heard you've got a lot of new missions to worry about yourself."

"Yes, but I'm only as good a captain as my team." Cassian offered, raising his eyebrows in an amused look. She had paused, yawning loudly, not bothering to cover her mouth. Jyn Erso at her finest.

"I'm fine, Cassian, really." Jyn told him, though her bleary eyes said otherwise.

They both reached the entrance of the mess hall, about to walk through the threshold when Jyn paused, glancing at the datapad on the wall.

"I've got to go." She announced, already turning on her heel by the time Cassian had started to protest.

"It's only five after seven." He argued, but his resistance was in vain; she'd already left, jogging down the hallway. Her figure was swallowed up by the swarms of rebel recruits stalking the hallways for a meal.

Cassian sighed, and accepted the fact that he would be eating another meal alone.

It had infected Bodhi now, too.

"I haven't seen you in a few days. Everything okay?" Cassian asked Bodhi as he slumped down on the mess hall stool, dropping his plate of rations onto the table in front of Cassian. Cassian had asked because he cared about his teammate, yes, but also because he was determined to finally be in the loop on something for once.

"Just," Bodhi said, running a hand over his face and through the strands of flyaway hair. He laughed, as if it were a hilarious situation playing through his head. "It's crazy."

"Do tell." Cassian said, a bit irritated. It almost was like they thought he couldn't know about what was going on, like he would ruin in. Come on, he thought a bit defensively, he could be funny. He could joke around. He wasn't some stoic, boring captian-

Oh, great. He'd become some hard-assed leader to them.

"You wouldn't believe me in the first place." Bodhi said, talking through a mouthful of bread. Bodhi Rook was not without his charms.

"You mean whatever you and Jyn are doing behind everyone's back?" Cassian asked, one eyebrow shooting up into a curious face. Bodhi rolled his eyes, pushing up his pilot goggles on his head.

"This is why she didn't want to tell you." Bodhi admitted, beginning to stack his plates together and gather up his things.

"Will someone tell me what the hell is going on with my team?" Cassian said, trying not to grit his teeth and set his jaw. He wouldn't find this out through anger or force, he knew that much. Bodhi just laughed, light-hearted and oblivious as ever.

"Oh, captain, you crack me up." Bodhi said, off to go dump his dirtied trays, humming and completely involved in his own world.

"Don't you know how to keep a secret?" Baze muttered to his companion, both men talking in hushed, quiet tones to one another. Cassian had to strain his ears to overhear the conversation on the ship.

Chirrut had muttered something back, too quiet for Cassian to pick up, and Baze had snorted loudly.

"The force can't help you with that." Baze said brazenly, rolling his eyes with a scoff. Cassian turned around his captain chair, trying to act as casual and friendly as possible.

"Secrets?" Cassian asked.

He wasn't the best with friendships.

"Yes, secrets." Chirrut said, grinning wildly as he stared in Cassian's direction. Cassian scowled, frustrated at the two bright, amused grins the two men gave him. It was as if he were being left out of a circle, not allowed to be in on the fun for fear of ruining it.

He was even more irritated that it bothered him.

"Why can't I know, then?" Cassian asked them, his brows furrowed together. Chirrut laughed.

"It's really not a big secret, captain." Chirrut chuckled. "If you must know, Jyn would be the one to tell you, not us."

"It's a secret because of her insistence, not ours." Baze added in, giving Cassian an amused smirk. They were both enjoying this, eating up how uncomfortable Cassian was in the moment.

Cassian knocked loudly on the door, rapping his knuckles against the metal surface. He tapped his foot impatiently; it was really getting to him, and he'd turned impatient and irritated with the situation.

"Jyn?" He asked loudly, knocking again. He knew she was in here; she'd skipped dinner for the second time that week, and Jyn Erso did not skip meals. He was sure that the day he saw her skip a meal would be the day that she met her end.

Hopefully she was still alive.

"That's Cassian!" Came a loud, frantic whisper from inside. It was Jyn, and by the sound of the frenzied scrambling inside, she was preoccupied.

"What do I do?" Asked another voice, deeper- Bodhi. It was just as terrified. Cassian was confused; he raised his hand to knock again, but decided to stay quiet for a moment. He'd let this play out for a few more seconds, even if it wasn't the most ethical think, eavesdropping on two close friends.

"Get in the closet!" Jyn hissed.

The close? Cassian thought, a stab of jealousy going through him. Surely they weren't- no, that was insane. Right? There was no way. He'd thought that it was them, not her and…. Bodhi? That sounded so wrong and sour on his tongue.

There was no way.

There was a crash of something loud in the room and a muttered curse, followed by a shutting door and a click of a lock.

The door to her room opened a crack, and she looked up at him through the sliver of doorway, her bright green eyes staring him down warily.

"Can I help you, captain?" Jyn asked innocently, not conveying the fact that she was hiding something from him. Something really big, and disgusting, Cassian thought.

"Is Bodhi in there?" Cassian asked abruptly, callous and without thinking. This whole situation and perceived rejection had turned him into some fumbling teenager, confused and irritated. Jyn's eyes got wider, her mouth opened in an adorable face of surprise. A few hairs had escaped from her signature bun, instead falling to frame her big eyes.

"Fine." Jyn said angrily, her eyes falling to the floor and her door swinging open. She pursed her lip and furrowed her eyebrows, seemingly unhappy with the situation at hand. She looked oddly close to throwing a temper tantrum.

"Can't keep it up anymore, Bodhi." Jyn sighed, running a hand through her messy hair as she let Cassian into her quarters.

It was messy, dim and warm, clothes and blankets strewn haphazardly about the room. It looked nothing like when he had seen it last, in a very different situation than now.

The closet door creaked open, Bodhi's shy face peeking out from around the door. Cassian braced himself for the worse- Bodhi coming out with minimal clothing, confirming Cassian's fears. He wasn't sure how to play off his reaction, either, to mask whatever hurt he was feeling.

But he didn't have to think about that, because Bodhi stepped out of the closet fully clothed and holding a ball of fur in his hands.

Cassian was so confused that he barely focused on Bodhi's living package.

"I found it one evening when I went on a run, and force, Cassian, it was just abandoned there and I couldn't possibly leave it to die." Jyn complained, desperation in her voice as she gave Cassian a killer set of puppy eyes.

In Bodhi's hands was a tiny, orange tabby kitten, completely content. It was purring and pushing itself into Bodhi's gloves, seemingly in love with the goofy pilot. One of its ears was missing a chunk, and it's tail was rather pitifully short, but it seemed in good health. Fat, too.

"I'd been feeding it a lot of my rations." Bodhi explained. "Only a monster could look at this angel and not want to stuff it's face, Cassian."

They were both pleading without asking, their eyes both wide and full of hope and persuasion. Jyn was wringing her hands together, her bottom lip out in an attempt to persuade Cassian to accept something very, very against rebellion rules.

"Cassian." Jyn whined, uncharacteristically childish. He was so unused to the puppy-eyed, pouty look on her serious face that he almost snorted. Bodhi, however, wore that look daily with whatever tickled his fancy.

"This is so against rebel rules-" Cassian said, sighing as he raked a hand over his tired face. "That I'm not even sure it's in the rules. It's something so obviously incorrect they assumed it didn't need to be noted."

"Captain, it's already in love with me." Bodhi argued, holding the puff of fur up to his face, trying to persuade his captain.

"Bodhi is its mother." Jyn said, nodding furiously, ready to say anything to persuade Cassian.

"You, I expect this from." Cassian motions to Bodhi, "But you, Jyn? Come on."

"I never had a pet as a child." Jyn said, looking away from Cassian and off into a corner of her room, seemingly deep and thought, remorseful and contemplating. Cassian internally groaned, because of course she'd play that card. He couldn't resist giving into her when she brought up her tragic childhood, because it was like stealing candy from a child who had never gotten to taste the sweets. And, because it was his Jyn.

"Force, fine." Cassian groaned, throwing his hands up. "But I swear, if Mon Mothma says one thing to me about that damned animal, it will end up somewhere on Hoth. Likely in a tauntaun's stomach."

Between the joyous celebration of the two and the sleepy purrs of the beloved animal, Cassian was smiling slightly. He never smiled, they knew, but it was obvious that the duo's reaction had infected him as well.

Even if it was very, very against Rebellion policy.


End file.
